


I've Been Looking for You

by Lumity_Fanfix



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay, Gay Panic, Guitars, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kissing, Lumity Month 2020 (The Owl House), Music, Regret, Reunions, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumity_Fanfix/pseuds/Lumity_Fanfix
Summary: It's been six years since Luz Noceda last visited the Isles. None of her friends know where she went or why she left. Amity, now 22 her siblings and Willow are taking a trip to the human world, on a break from the Isles, and to potentially find their long lost friend. (Basically a very very slow burn with lots of fluff and angst.)
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda & Willow Park, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Hooty, King & Luz Noceda
Comments: 18
Kudos: 159





	1. If I Could Find You

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter is pretty short, it's more of a pilot to get people into the series than anything. I promise longer chapters are on their way. I love you guys and hope you enjoy!!!

“This is a bad idea” Amity grumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time. She wrung her hands and was bouncing on the balls of her feet, she half-heartedly scolded herself for fidgeting, but she had too many other things on her mind. 

“We’ll be fine,” Willow assured the nervous witch... for the hundredth time, “Don’t you want to see the human realm?” Amity couldn’t deny the longing to see the different world, (or the possibility of seeing her long lost crush again.) She nodded back at Willow unable to form words without tripping over her tongue. However the resurfaced memory of Luz Noceda was beginning to bite at her already fragile courage. Luz had just stopped visiting six years before. Usually the human would visit every summer, feigning her return to summer camp, but then one year she didn’t step through the portal, and that was it. Two years after the humans' disappearance, Amity turned 18 and moved out of her parents' home. She joined the Emperor's Coven, and then immediately stumbled upon a resistance, headed by none other than Gus Porter, Amity’s friend from school. After a few days of debating, she decided to join the resistance and became a spy against the Emperor. Now she was 22 and had worked her way up to Lilith’s old position in the coven, working closely with Emperor Belos, and was the most important spy for the resistance. 

Amity shook the thoughts of work from her head, and looked down at her hastily thrown together outfit. She didn’t know what proper “human” clothes were, but she could guess from what Luz wore during her visits. She also didn’t have many “casual” clothes, so she used what she could. She ended up with a baby pink dress that ended just above her knees, and puffed slightly out with an underskirt of white lace. Under that she wore black tights and had donned small loafers that matched her dress. She had shown her sister the finished outfit and Emira had dragged Amity into her own bathroom and dug through her nearly empty supply of jewelry. Then after handing her little sister the black choker and spiked bracelet, she went to work on her hair, pulling it back into a half-up half-down style that closely resembled her old hair. Then, despite Amity’s several objections, Emira finally convinced the younger Blight to hold still so she could do her make-up. Amity would never admit it to her sister but she loved how the cat-eye eyeliner made her look fierce, and made her feel powerful. 

Willow had confirmed as much when they met up outside the owl house, Emira and Edric tagging along, (because they were annoying) and because Eda wasn’t going to let the two younger witches go alone. Amity had complained at first, pointing out that she and Willow were both in their 20’s and could easily handle anything, but Eda was stubborn, and claimed that they were safer with a larger group. 

At the current moment, they were all mingling in Eda’s living room. Edric and Emira were busying themselves by goggling at all of Eda’s human artifacts, trying to guess the function of each object, (Amity guessed that most of their assumptions were far from accurate). Willow had settled on the couch, petting King, who had shuffled drowsily into the room earlier and found the perfect napping spot; Willow’s lap. Amity on the other hand was pacing nervously around the room, messing with her jewelry and tugging on the collar of her dress. 

“Stop fiddling with that Ames,” Edric scolded from across the room, “you’ll stretch it out.” He gestured toward her accusingly, an odd rope held loosely in his hand. Amity grimaced at him, sticking her tongue out, (to which he returned the gesture), and sat with a huff on the couch next to Willow. Willow glanced at her, an amused expression lighting up her face. Amity offered her a weak smile and looked down at her hands, noticing that they were aggressively twitching, reaching for something that wasn’t there. She clutched tightly at her dress, a flimsy attempt to hide the shaking. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Willow’s eyes looking down to focus on her hands. She definitely noticed. Amity pretended to not see Willows careful gaze, focusing on a picture across the room. 

Unfortunately this particular framed photo was one of Luz the last time Amity had seen her. The human was grinning ear to ear an arm thrown casually around Amity’s shoulder, the other arm supporting King, who was balanced on her head. Luz’s hair had grown out to her shoulders and was always messy, in the picture she was wearing a red beanie that Amity had gotten her as a parting gift. When Amity had handed over the hat, her face felt like it was on fire, but Luz hadn’t seemed to notice, she just took the gift and smiled brightly. Amity could have sworn tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked and they were gone. Gus, Willow, Emira, Edric and Eda were all in the photo too. All smiles and hugs. Gus had done a very poor job of hiding his tears, brought forth by saying goodbye to Luz again. After the picture was taken, they all said their goodbyes, more tears were shed, and King kept saying that it would be fine because she would come back next year.

But she hadn’t.

Amity felt her throat close up, and a slight pressure behind her nose warned her of the tears that were soon to make an appearance. She jammed her tongue into the roof of her mouth in an attempt to prevent the tears, but in doing so, a quiet sob squeezed its way out of her clogged throat. Willow sensing her friend's distress laid a hand on Amity’s back rubbing in small circles. Amity breathed slowly, counting her breaths and focusing on WIllow’s hand on her back. 

Fiona, Amity’s palisman, raised her head from the table where she was resting, her ears twitching in alarm. She jumped up from her spot and sprang nimbly from the table to the arm of the couch. She squirmed her way under her master’s arm curling tightly in her lap, pressing into her stomach. The palisman began to purr, the low rumbles travelled from the cat, up Amity’s torso warming her chest and neck. Fiona’s magic calmed the witches nerves and opened up her throat allowing her breaths to come much more easily. Amity wasn’t sure how, or even why the palisman was so skilled with subduing panic attacks, but nonetheless she was extremely grateful. 

Willow leaned forward catching Amity’s eye forcing her to look at her friend. The other witch raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation. Amity shrugged, feigning obliviousness, and gently stroked Fiona’s wooden head. The cat continued to purr, but this was normal non-magical purring. Willow shook her head at Amity, letting her know that she wasn’t fooling anyone. 

Amity looked up to see that the twins were still none the wiser, digging through a chest of vibrant cloth. Good. As far as she was aware, neither of her siblings knew of her frequent panic attacks. And she planned to keep it that way, she didn’t need them worrying about her.

Willow, who had gone back to scratching King, inhaled quickly, probably getting ready to say something about the attack. Amity braced herself, not ready for the question, but was graciously saved by Eda, who swept into the room, her arms thrown wide.

“Welcome younglings,” she sang with an added effect of showmanship, “I can see you’ve made yourself at home.” She added with a pointed glance at the twins who were trying, (and failing) to hide Eda’s things behind their backs. Edric gave her a sly smile, and Eda just shook her head at him. She switched her attention to the witches on the couch, her smile slightly faltering when her gaze landed on Amity. The young witch had done her best to hide her panic, but Eda had a keen eye. Eda approached them and lightly ruffled Amity’s hair.

“How ya’ doing kiddo?” She asked cautiously. 

“Same as usual.” Amity did her best to sound nonchalant, but could tell, from Eda’s pitiful look, that she was failing. Amity stood anyway, Fiona held firmly against her chest, and retrieved her staff from where it rested against the couch. She set the staff upright and her palisman jumped from Amity’s arms onto the staff, the 4 inch circular platform atop the staff allowed the small cat to sit comfortably atop, before licking her paw once and becoming still. 

“Are we going?” Amity asked, suddenly eager to escape Eda’s judgment. 

“Yup!” Eda exclaimed, pulling the key from her hair, she pushed the button and they all watched as the door unfolded. 

“Alright,” the older witch turned to the rest of the group, “Absolutely no funny business, you all stay together, and above all else, please, try not to do any magic in front of humans.” All four of them nodded, they had heard this lecture many times before.

“Remember this is supposed to be a get-away, a chance to relax and explore the human world.” Eda didn’t mention what they were all thinking. Not only was this trip a way to take a break from the Boiling Isles, but they were also hoping to find their long lost friend. The chances were low, none of them knew where she lived in regards to the portal, they also weren’t even sure if she still lived near the doorway to their world. 

There was a lengthened silence as they all took in the unsaid words. Willow was the first one to move, jumping up from her spot on the couch and coming to stand beside Amity. King grumbled loudly at being displaced, but simply rolled over and began snoring again. 

“We’ll be very careful.” She assured Eda. The older witch just gave them all a stern look and stepped away from the portal. 

Edric and Emira were the first to go through, Emira pushing Edric through the doorway before jumping in herself. Willow followed, glancing back nervously at Amity before she too, disappeared. Amity swallowed deeply, then took a step towards the portal. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Eda glancing nervously to the side. Amity blinked in confusion, Eda didn’t get nervous.

“If-” she started, but her voice was scratchy and rough, she cleared her throat and tried again, “If you find her, let her know I-we miss her, so much.” Eda’s voice cracked on that last word. She took her hand off of Amity’s shoulder and turned away quickly, wiping the moisture from her eyes. Amity blinked again, her stomach twisting.

“Of course.” She managed to choke out. With a final wave to Eda she clutched Fiona to her chest and stepped cautiously through the portal, a million conflicting thoughts warring in her head. 


	2. I Think I Found You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added another chapter today because the first two are very short. After this they will definitely lengthen out.

Amity stepped out of the portal, opening her eyes to a dense forest. The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky in an array of warm colors. Amity gasped at the beauty of it, fumbling slightly with her staff before regaining her composure and looked for her companions. They stood just at the bottom of a rickety wooden staircase. It took Amity a second to realize that she wasn’t standing on grass, instead she was standing on top of a wooden porch of sorts. A quick glance behind her confirmed that she had just exited an old shed, with peeling paint and broken windows. The glow of the portal faded into blackness, revealing an empty room. Amity turned away from the shed with a shiver, it was quite a bit colder here than it was in the Boiling Isles, the witch was beginning to wish she had brought a coat. 

“Hurry up Ames!” Edric complained. Amity rolled her eyes and stepped carefully down, the wooden stairs squealed in protest, Amity was half certain they were going to collapse. When she reached the ground Willow stepped to her side and laid a hand gently on her arm. 

“I think you should leave Fiona here.” WIllow said softly. Amity knew this was coming, but had hoped that no one else would realize that her staff was extremely powerful and could easily give away who they actually were. Amity looked down at her staff, and gently patted the cat on the head. The wooden figure immediately sprang to life, leaping onto Amity’s shoulder and rubbing against her cheek.

“Sorry Fi, but you have to stay here, I doubt any humans have seen an animate wooden cat before.” The cat, seeming to understand her, jumped down from her shoulder and curled up in a ball on the stairs. Amity ducked low and gave Fiona a gentle stroke, before tucking the rest of the staff under the house. She stood up, brushed a few clumps of dirt from her dress, and turned back to the group. 

“I still don’t know why you brought her,” Emira began, “it’s not like you would have been able to use her anyway.” Amity and Willow exchanged glances, so Emira hadn’t noticed Fiona’s assistance with the panic attack. Amity felt a rush of relief.

“I didn’t know if we would need her, I just wanted to be careful.” Emira shrugged and turned to face away from the shed. 

“So, where to now?” Edric asked, looking around nervously. Amity knew they would have trouble finding their way around, but with the sky slowly darkening the panic began to set in again. Amity forced herself to take a deep breath, then she counted to ten.

“We should go straight,” she said pointing directly away from the shed, “The path from the stairs goes that way so it should lead to something.” 

The rest of the group agreed and they began walking. It was a strange feeling, knowing that Luz was in this world, that she may even be in walking distance from Amity. The witch silently scolded herself for getting her hopes up, after 6 years of absolutely no communication, their chances of finding Luz was little to none. Even so Amity couldn’t help but imagine it, what would she look like. Did she let her hair grow out, or did she cut it again? What was she doing as a career, did she still live with her mom? Did she have her own place? Did she have a roommate? Was she in a romantic relationship with someone? The thought of Luz being with someone else stirred up a lot of strong emotions, mostly jealousy, but also some guilt. It had been 6 years, Amity had no right to feel about Luz the way she did. Now that she was thinking about it, it was stupid that she still had feelings for Luz at all. The human left the Isles, left Amity. It’s likely she never wanted to see her again, the idea alone was enough to make Amity’s skin crawl. 

The witch was so lost in her thoughts she nearly ran into Edric, who had stopped short. Amity let out a huff of displeasure and stepped around her brother to see what the fuss was about. Her heart fluttered, they had reached the end of the forest and were looking out over a dimly lit street. Boxy houses lined the road, a friendly glow illuminating several windows. 

“We should follow the road.” Willow suggested, and they did. They walked a few blocks, the others pointing out odd human things they didn’t recognize. Amity felt a surge of pride, she recognized several of the objects, but her heart sank again when she remembered who had taught her about all those human things. They had been walking for a while when Willow let out a small gasp. They all turned to her quizzically, she just pointed, her face frozen in that startled state.

Amity followed WIllow’s gaze, and when she saw what had made the other witch stop she too froze. She couldn’t believe it, it couldn’t be real. For, hanging on a line in the yard of one of the houses, were several sheets of paper. Each one decorated with a painted glyph, the same glyphs Luz had used to do magic. 

“That’s her, it has to be,” Emira whispered. Before Amity could think she began to approach the house. 

“Ames, wait!” Edric grabbed her arm, “your ears.” Amity was about to protest, but then realized he was right. She reached up and touched her pointed ears.

“Here let me,” Edric made a small circle with his finger, then smiled, “Just in case there are any other humans.”

Amity felt her ear again and found that it was rounded. 

“Thank you.” He nodded again. Amity then turned and began to make her way towards the house again. But was interrupted once more by a hand on her shoulder. She turned again annoyed, but this time it was Willow.

“Just think about this for a second Amity, there’s no point in going in without a plan.” 

“It’s just Luz.”

“Yes, who you haven’t seen in six years, think about it.” Amity paused, scrunching her eyebrows in frustration.

“I want to do this.” She finally said, “I need to do this.” Willow stepped back and nodded. Amity turned back to the house, hopefully for the last time.

Each step threatened to tip her over onto the sidewalk. Gods, she was shaking so bad. She grabbed her dress and squeezed counting her breaths, trying to slow her beating heart. She glanced back nervously at the rest of the group, only to see that they weren’t there. Had they left her? Did they not want to see Luz again? Stop. Amity told herself, Edric and Emira probably cast an illusion spell to hide them. Yeah, that was it. 

Amity turned her attention back to the house. The light in the front window was on, and the sidewalk was lined with several blooming flowers. It was warm and welcoming, and had an aura of happiness that helped calm her nerves. She felt like a kid again, after she had first met Luz. Happy-go-lucky, barely any worries whatsoever. Constantly accompanied by a giddy feeling that nothing could ever go wrong. 

Amity smiled to herself, and took the last step. She was standing in front of the door now. She raised a shaking hand, trying to ignore the voice in her head telling her this was a bad idea, and knocked. Once, twice, three times. 

Silence, no sound other than her beating heart. 

And then... Foot steps.

A click.

The door handle turned.

And the door swung open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the next chapter on Saturday!


	3. There you Are

“Can I help you?” The woman who opened the door had a heavy spanish accent, but she was definitely not Luz. She was rounder and had soft, kind eyes. Amity didn’t answer for a second, embarrassment boiling in the pit of her stomach. The woman looked her up and down, an expectant look on her face.   
“Um,” Amity swallowed, “I’m looking for L-luz Noceda?” Her voice cracked violently and she cringed at the sound. The woman's face changed to worry.  
“Are you alright?” She asked opening the door a bit wider to let Amity in. The witch was shocked by the gesture but stepped inside the warm entryway. She shuffled her feet feeling out of place in this stranger's home. The lady shut the door behind her and ushered Amity into an area that must have been the kitchen.  
“Sit, sit.” She insisted. Amity stepped stiffly into the room and made her way toward the table. As she pulled one of the mismatched chairs out, the women began to speak.  
“Luz is my daughter, I’m surprised you came looking for her here though, she’s only been in town for a few days.” Oh… oh. Amity ran a hand along the surface of the table and began to tell a half-hearted and very messy lie.   
“We were old friends, I’m visiting some relatives and thought I would come say hi.” Ms. Noceda gave the witch a sideways glance, clearly not buying the whole story. She was digging through a cabinet and eventually pulled out two mugs, then began a kind of dance around the kitchen opening doors and putting something together.  
“You seemed a bit shaken up when I answered the door.” She mentioned, probably hoping to get an explanation out of the witch. Amity looked down at the table quickly, her mind whirling.   
“I-,” but she was spared from answering by the front door swinging open.   
“Mami! I’m back!”   
Amity gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. That voice… She knew that voice, it was a frequent participant in her dreams, and nightmares. Amity couldn’t stop herself from moving, but suddenly she was out of her chair.  
“In here, Miha!” There was a thunk of the front door shutting and then footsteps. She rounded the corner, but was looking down, fiddling with a pair of earbuds that had been tangled together.  
“Luz, you have a guest.” At that Luz Noceda looked up, and she and Amity made eye contact. 

It was way too cold for an afternoon walk, but Luz Noceda didn’t have a car, and she wasn’t about to ask her mom to drive her three blocks to the woods. She shivered violently pulling her light jacket tightly around her. Her nose was running, and the cold bit at her eyes. She sniffled and brushed her nose with a numb hand. Then once her hands were safely tucked into her pockets, she began to hum to herself, hoping for a distraction from the cold, and other thoughts. The tune was a familiar one, a song she had been working on for quite some time now, but she had never been able to get it right. As she walked she played with the chords, changed a few notes, when she found a sound that she liked, she pulled a small notebook from her pocket and scribbled it down before she forgot. This particular song was going to be a gift to her friends back on the Isles, a sort of apology for never coming back. She knew that she owed them a lot more than a stupid song but she needed something to start with.   
Luz didn’t have any good explanation for why she didn’t go back that first year. She got cold feet. That much was clear, but she wasn’t entirely sure what ultimately convinced her to turn away from the portal and walk back home. A little voice in the back of her head began to chant, Amity, Amity, Amity. And the voices were probably right. Luz had a crush on the witch before she even knew what those feelings ment. She realized those feelings when Amity gifted her with the beanie, her last day on the Isles. When Ami handed over the gift, their hands brushed, and Luz could have sworn an electric shock travelled through their joined hands. The only thing Luz could do was smile fondly at Amity’s blush and try not to tear up at the sentimentality of the gift. Luz was actually wearing the beanie right now, she wore it as often as she could. It was one of the only things she still had from the Isles, the only thing she had that reminded her of Amity. She still had the glyphs, she drew them everywhere, and was always disappointed when the paper she used dissolved into ash. She still had no idea why she wasn’t able to do magic in the human world, Lilith had been able to use her magic when they both stumbled through the portal that one time.   
It was probably something about drawing her magic from the land, a witch could do magic in the human realm because their magic came from within, Luz had to rely on the Boiling Isles itself to cast a spell. That didn’t mean she didn’t try constantly, she felt a special connection to her glyphs, they were something that only she used, other witches could use glyphs, but they were her thing. She had even tattooed the first four spells she learned on her back, along her spine. She wanted to make sure she never forgot about the magic of the Isles.   
Luz was rubbing her back remorsefully when she realized that she had reached her destination. She turned to face the woods. Memories began to resurface, she could almost hear Owlbert’s hoots from that first time, when he stole her book and she followed him into that mysterious shed. Now here she was again, eight years after her first visit. Six after her last.   
With a deep breath Luz stepped over the sidewalk and trekked into the forest.

The tree’s were welcoming, vibrant oranges and yellows, the light of the sun filtered through the branches dancing off of the half-dead grass like water droplets. Once she was a decent way into the woods she switched from humming to singing. Luz was very shy about her voice, which was the main reason she played guitar in her band instead of singing. Her bandmates knew she was talented but they also knew she wasn’t comfortable singing to strangers. They were fine with it, Jacob was an amazing lead singer anyway, it would be hard to beat him.   
Thinking about the band reminded Luz that they were meeting up soon. Luz swore and pulled out her phone, checking the time. The forest was eerily silent without her voice echoing through the trees.   
Luz sighed in relief, she still had an hour. Her band was back in her town, they all shared an apartment complex, that’s how they met. Bailey, (their drummer), was close friends with the owner of the building so they let the group use the basement for practice. The space was surprisingly sound proof, and had great acoustics. Luz was joining them via FaceTime, since she was visiting her mom for the week.   
She silently reminded herself to bring the glyph paintings inside when she got back to the house. Her bandmates had seen her tattoos and wanted the symbols to be a part of their band logo, Luz was more than happy with the idea. She had decided to start making posters for the band while she was away. So she’d left the painted paper to dry in her Mami’s front yard.   
Luz looked up and had to do a double take. There it was, the old shed. She swallowed, and then cautiously approached the rundown building. She stepped up the rickety stairs, and immediately got deja vu. The door was closed so she reached out a shaking hand and pushed it open. The wood was rough on her skin, and a sudden pain had her recoiling with a yelp.   
“Gosh dangit.” She grumbled holding her finger up to her face. The cursed door had given her a splinter. She tried to pull it out with her nails, but they were all bitten down. Luz silently cursed her nervous habit and stuck her finger in her mouth.   
Trying to ignore the twinge of pain, Luz poked her head through the doorway, careful not to touch the splintering wood again. The room was mostly empty, just a few discarded tools. It had probably been a work shed before.   
Luz couldn’t help but feel disappointed, there was no portal, no tingly feeling that she associated with magic. It was just an old shed. Luz grumbled in frustration turning on her heel and marching down the steps ignoring the creaking. She didn’t even bother to shut the door, she didn’t care.  
It was stupid, she had left them, of course the portal wouldn’t have been open. They probably hated her for leaving, not even for leaving, for never coming back. It had been six years, six too long years, during which Luz had let them down over and over again. She didn’t even realize she was crying until a tear fell from her cheek onto the ground. She wiped it away with ferocity, trying to shove the pain back down into her gut where it had lurked for so long.   
She had to stop, her legs wouldn’t work. She leaned against a tree and slid slowly to the ground. She should never have tried to look for the shed again. The only thing it would bring was more pain and memories. She had known that before she even planned to visit her mom. But the desperation to see her friends was so much she had to try. She knew she should just drop it, never think about the Isles or her friends or Amity ever again.   
But… she couldn’t. The agony of forgetting would be much worse than the regret and guilt she felt now. Luz let herself calm down. Breathing deeply and singing quietly to herself.   
A few moments later she was able to get up on shaking legs and walk towards the street.

Luz stood in front of her Mami’s house for a few minutes, before looking down at her phone. She still had some time to kill before the meeting. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sit in her old room alone with her thoughts for another half-hour. She remembered that there was an old coffee shop a few blocks away, and it had warmed up enough that walking wouldn’t be a hassle. She did slip inside for a second to grab her earbuds and a warmer coat before calling to her mom that she was heading out again.  
Camillia responded with a quick “Te quiero mucho!” and Luz set out again.  
She had made it to the cafe just before the sun began to set. She stepped inside the warm area and approached the line pulling out her phone to scroll through her texts. It was mostly spam, a few messages from the band group chat that she scanned. She didn’t have many other friends beside her bandmates so her contact list was mostly empty. She had just exited the text app when she felt a strange tingling on her back. It itched, and slightly burned. She rubbed at the spot and was alarmed to find the area warm even through her jacket.  
She stepped swiftly out of line, and rushed to the bathroom trying not to draw attention to herself. She slid into the single room bathroom and shut the door behind her, locking it with a click.   
She turned to the small mirror and took her earbuds out setting them and her phone setting them hastily on the sink. She almost ripped her jacket as she struggled to take it off, knocking her hat off in the process. She pulled her shirt up and craned her neck to look in the mirror. What she saw made her gasp, she blinked trying to clear her eyes, but what she was seeing was definitely real.   
Her light glyph tattoo was glowing. It was dull, not bright at all, but it was enough that Luz knew she wasn’t seeing things. How was this even possible, there was no magic in the human world. She didn’t even activate the glyph, and none of the others were working. She watched in awe as the light faded, and the black circle was all that was left. She stared at her back for a very long time, before pulling her shirt back down and shrugging into her jacket.   
She grabbed her phone and retrieved the hat from the floor and put it back on. She paused before she left the bathroom, staring into the mirror, daring it to shatter, or do something that would prove that she was dreaming. But it didn’t her glyph had been working, and she had no idea why.  
Luz left the cafe without buying anything, she had lost her appetite and just wanted to go home and give her Mami a hug. On the way back to the house she cranked her music all the way up, blocking out the sounds of the world. When she rounded the corner of her block, she felt an odd pressure just under her ribcage, an odd tingling that felt awfully familiar. She brushed the feeling off and continued down the sidewalk.   
Luz couldn’t help but feel like the sensation was getting stronger the closer she got to her house. She pulled her earbuds out and shoved them into her pocket. She probably looked crazy, looking behind herself every five steps, her eyes darting back and forth across the street like ping pong balls. She reached her driveway and began to walk up to the door. Her hands started to twitch as her mind told her something was wrong. She pulled the earbuds out of her pocket, unable to hold still, and attempted to untangle them. When she got to the door, her mind had been so distracted by the damn knot in her earbuds, she forgot about her paranoia. She absentmindedly opened the door, shoving it open with her shoulder. She called out to Camillia letting her know she was back. Her voice echoed back to her from the kitchen. She kicked the door shut with her foot and trudged down the hall, her earbuds were extremely tangled, she had resorted to just tugging on them praying that they wouldn’t break. She turned the corner into the kitchen, her mind completely focused on the wires.  
“Luz, you have a guest.”  
Luz looked up.  
And there she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter should be posted on Monday!


	4. I've Been Looking for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small hiatus is following this chapter so it's a bit longer than usual. Luv you guys!

She was just standing there a blank look on her face, was it shock, disgust, anger? Amity couldn’t breathe as she waited for Luz to react, to say something, anything.   
“Amity?” Her voice cracked, along with the witches heart. The adult in the room glanced between them, then slipped out of the room, touching Luz’s shoulder gently before excusing herself.   
They were both crying, both silent. The stillness in the room was almost too much for Amity.  
Amity took a hesitant step forward reaching toward the other girl, “Luz I-,” but before she could get another word out Luz closed the space between them and enveloped Amity in a tight hug.  
Amity stood frozen, unsure of what to do, but eventually gave into instinct, wrapping her arms around Luz burying her head in the other girl's neck. Damn she’s tall. Amity smiled to herself, they fit together perfectly, Luz’s chin resting on the witches head, Amity’s arms swung tightly around her waist.   
“I’ve been looking for you.” Amity whispered into Luz’s neck. In turn the other girl stiffened pulling back.   
“Amity I’m so sorry, I shouldn't have left like that, it was so stupid.” Amity let go of Luz, but the other girl held onto her hands. The witch frowned, a million questions on the tip of her tongue.   
“Why did you leave?” Was the one that came out first. Luz looked down a light blush lighting up her dark skin. She honestly looked ashamed. Amity sensed what she was about to do and knew it was a bad idea, but she did it anyway. Lifting a shaking hand she cupped Luz’s face, forcing the other girls attention back to her. Luz's smile was enough to melt Amity’s heart. But then her face fell again and she opened her mouth to respond to Amity’s question.  
“Amity… Ami, I just-” her sentence was interrupted by a shrill ringing coming from Luz’s jacket. The human looked down seeming just as shocked as Amity.   
“Shoot.” Luz groaned, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She stepped away from Amity, leaving the witch feeling cold. She pressed the screen and the ringing stopped. A few seconds later she was typing furiously, walking in circles around the kitchen. When she was done, she set the phone down on the counter.   
“Who was that?” Amity asked, genuinely curious. Luz looked up, at her awe painted on her face, almost as if she couldn’t believe Amity was standing there. She blinked at her a few times and then seemed to absentmindedly rub her back.   
“It was just my band,” the human said waving a hand dismissively, “hang on I just thought of something.” The girl reached down and touched the hem of her shirt before pausing and glancing toward the hallway, where her mother had disappeared to earlier.   
“Here.” The human grabbed Amity’s hand and guided her out of the kitchen. Amity face reddened in an instant. She couldn’t get over the fact that Luz was here talking to her, holding her hand. She felt a wave of lightheadedness and nearly tripped after Luz.   
The human led Amity through what she would assume was the living room, and waved casually at her mother who was sitting on the couch scrolling through her phone. This shocked Amity, she assumed her mother would have been listening in. That’s what Amity’s parents would have done, but now that she was thinking about it, Amity’s parents probably wouldn’t have cared enough to listen in on her conversations. Ms. Noceda looked up and smiled sweetly at her daughter, and then to her surprise, at Amity. The witch couldn’t help but smile back.   
Luz let go of Amity’s hand for a second just to open a door, but it felt like forever. The human swung the door wide and ushered Amity into the room. Amity stepped inside and took a moment to look around. It was so welcoming, fairy lights decorated the walls, and a variety of posters cluttered the space. Amity could only recognize the Azura posters but all the others featured superhero looking cartoons. Above the bed a blue purple and pink flag hung, Amity recognized the colors as the bisexual flag, which Luz had shared with her when they were younger.   
There was a click as Luz shut the door. Amity glanced back at the human and smiled shyly.   
“This is my old room, I was surprised my mom kept all of my old things.” The human stepped around Amity and sat down on the navy comforter, patting the spot next to her. Amity obliged sitting lightly on the bed fiddling with her thumbs as she did so.   
“So about what you were going to say earlier…”   
“Oh! Right.” Luz jumped up and shrugged out of her jacket, then to Amity’s alarm she began to pull her shirt up. Heat rushed to her face and she looked down at her clenched fists. She had no idea what was going on.   
“When did you come through the portal?”   
“We came through about fifteen minutes before I saw you. Why?”  
Luz paused for a moment, causing Amity to look up. Luz was standing in front of her, her shirt wadded up in a ball on the floor. She was wearing a black sports bra and had surprisingly defined muscles.  
“Wait… we?”   
“The twins and Willow came with me, we separated when I saw the glyphs in your yard and decided to check it out.” It was a half-truth, Amity didn't decide anything she just did.   
“Willow’s here?” Luz’s eyes brightened, then dimmed immediately after, whatever she was thinking about wasn’t pretty.   
Amity began to respond but Luz silenced her by leaning forward and pressing her finger to the witches lips. Amity looked down at her finger and back up at Luz, blushing again. Amity had blushed more in the past ten minutes than she had in the past six years combined.   
“No, I need to stop getting distracted. ‘Kay so, about the same time the portal was open something… weird happened.” Luz straightened up and turned around giving Amity a full view of her toned back… and the four glyphs, inked onto her skin. Amity’s mouth fell open with a pop, and she stood up, walking slowly towards Luz. When she reached her she traced the outline of the glyph she recognized from their Grudgby game when Luz used the thorn vault. Luz shivered at the touch and Amity, realizing what she was doing, drew her hand back with a mumbled “sorry”.   
Luz turned back to Amity and sat cross legged on the floor. She didn’t even bother to put her shirt back on, and Amity wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing or not.   
“I was in line at this cafe, when I felt a weird tingling on my spine, it didn’t hurt but it, like, itched… I don’t really know.” She was ranting, and it was adorable, “I reached back to touch it and my skin was hot, I could feel it through my jacket. Obviously I panicked and ran to the bathroom, and when I looked at my back…” Luz’s eyes were wide as saucers, and she was using her hands to tell the story, waving them in all directions, and honestly, Amity thought she might die of cuteness, “The light glyph, it was glowing.” Amity raised her eyebrows.  
“Some magic probably escaped the portal when we went through, since that glyph takes so little power, the energy that escaped the Isles was enough to activate it.”  
“That’s what I was thinking.”   
They sat in silence for a while. Amity, who's mind was close to boiling over, decided to break the tension.  
“So,” she began, “what have you been up to? Didn’t you mention a band?”  
Luz’s face lit up, she launched into a lengthy explanation of her band, explaining the glyphs out front, and the unexpected phone call. Amity tried to keep up with the human, but she talked so fast. Several names were thrown around, Bailey, Jacob, Lauren. Luz spent a lot of time talking about Lauren. How she was so easy to talk to, and how she was her first real friend in the human world. Amity felt a twinge of jealousy for this girl, and again scolded herself for being so obsessive.   
“I didn’t know you could play the guitar.” Amity said, trying to distract herself from the conflicted feelings warring in her head.  
“Oh yeah, I played when I was younger, but picked it up again about five years ago.” Luz got up suddenly and skipped to her closet, throwing it open with a flourish. She dragged a big black case out and propped it open. She pulled a worn down guitar from the case, and ran a hand along the strings lovingly. The instrument was a burgundy red, decorated with colorful stickers, Amity saw the bi flag again, but other than that, the phrases and images were unfamiliar.  
Luz carried the instrument back over to Amity, who felt a bit as if she was intruding on an intimate moment.   
“I’ve actually been looking forward to playing for you for awhile.” Luz confessed keeping her eyes down, her face reddening. Amity didn’t know what to say so she just nodded, swallowing in an attempt to open her throat.   
Luz tuned the guitar, strumming the strings as she adjusted the sound. She stuck her tongue out in concentration and Amity smiled fondly at her.   
Once Luz was satisfied she reached up and adjusted the hat she was wearing. Amity realized with a start, that it was the beanie the witch had given to her all those years ago.   
When Luz strummed the first chord, time seemed to freeze. As far as Amity was concerned the only thing in the entirety of both their worlds was Luz and her music. The song was soft, gentle and the most beautiful thing Amity had ever heard. The witch closed her eyes and let the music consume her. She would be happy to stay in this moment forever.

Luz loved this song, it was one her Papa would sing to her when she was barely able to walk. It was the only memory she had of him. She had sworn long ago that she would only play this song for her Mami, and then she would teach it to her own children. She had broken that promise, years ago, and she still regretted it. It had been very impulsive, the boy had admitted that he had a crush on her. She had still been spewing over Amity and had needed away out. She gave it a shot, and just because she wanted it to be more than it was she played for him. He moved away the next week, no explanation, no goodbye, and honestly Luz was relieved. But now she was playing it for Amity, and it had never felt so right. For the first time she began to feel a purpose, deep down in her heart, lighting up the darkness that had plagued her ever since she left the Isles.   
She found the notes melting together like honey, a most satisfying feeling after years of struggling to find a reason to play. She supposed that was why she joined the band, she needed an outlet, to be able to play without the constant memories and crippling regret. She loved getting lost in the moment, but until now that had always led to sadness.   
Luz plucked the last few notes and exhaled lightly, her lips curling with a soft smile. She looked up at Amity who was gazing back at her longingly, and to Luz’s surprise tears glistened in her eyes.  
“Luz… that was beautiful.” The pure awe in her voice was enough to make Luz tear up as well.   
“I’m glad you liked it. I don’t play that for people, it’s very special to me, my Papa taught me the song.” Amity sucked in a breath and Luz smiled sheepishly at her, before looking down at her guitar, she began to fiddle with a sticker that was peeling off.   
There was a rustling and then a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Amity who was kneeling next to her.  
“Luz, it was gorgeous,” she pressed a hand against her heart, “I am honored that you played it for me.”   
They were grinning at each other, an electric tension fizzing between them like a live wire. Amity moved her hand so it rested on Luz’s upper arm.   
The tension changed. Luz knew Amity felt it too, from the way her smile faded and her eyes lowered to Luz’s lips.   
I want to kiss her so bad. Luz was shocked by her own thoughts. But then again, hadn’t she considered the same thing six years ago during their last day together?   
Both girls had unconsciously leaned towards each other, their noses were inches apart and Luz could feel Amity’s hot breath on her face. She suddenly became self conscious, she prayed to the Gods that her breath didn’t smell. She bit her lip in frustration, which caught Amity’s attention, she was bright red, but didn’t move away.   
There was a light knock on the door, and they drew apart, both red, both breathing hard.   
“Luz?” It was her mother, “There’s someone else here to see you.” That’s weird, she wasn’t expecting anyone, Luz knew she looked confused because Amity was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.  
“Kay, I’ll be there in a second.” She stood up and realized that her legs were aggressively shaking, she hoped Amity didn’t notice. She put her guitar away automatically, her movements robotic. Should she mention what definitely almost happened between them? She glanced over at Amity who was avoiding eye contact, staring at the posters on the wall, her blush had faded to a light dusting of pink. Yeah, maybe now wasn’t the time. 

They had almost kissed. They had almost kissed. Amity could barely breathe, her heart was pounding so loud she wouldn’t be surprised if Luz could hear the unsteady beat.   
Her head was still spinning when Luz slipped out the door, on her way to see who her other guest was. She couldn’t stop shaking, this was ridiculous, she needed to get herself under control.   
She could faintly hear the mumble of voices, Luz and whoever else was here. She still couldn’t understand why her body was reacting so violently. It was just a kiss, her first kiss. She pulled her knees to her chest and attempted to sort through her thoughts. She knew she should probably be ashamed, she was in her twenties and still hadn’t had a first kiss. Her parents had tried to push her into relationships with an assortment of boyfriends, but they all ended quickly with each one getting frustrated at Amity’s lack of interest. Of course she wouldn’t be interested in them, she didn’t like men, at all. But she couldn’t tell her parents that they had put all of their faith in her to continue the Blight bloodline, since the twins had both refused to keep a committed relationship as well.   
Her sulking was interrupted by Luz re-entering the bedroom.  
“It’s Emira, she needs you.” Amity was immediately on her feet. Luz stepped aside giving her space to leave the room. As Amity passed they grazed shoulders and all the emotions that Amity had tried to suppress before threatened to boil over again. She clenched her teeth, leashing her heart and focusing on the task at hand.  
Emira was panicked, her hair was messy, strands falling out of her usually perfect braid, a signal that she probably had been running her hands through it. She was fidgeting with her hands, a very un-Emira thing to do.  
Amity approached her and grabbed her wrists, forcing her to hold still.  
“Emira what’s wrong.”   
“We have to go back. Now.” Her voice was shaking.  
“Why?”  
“I don’t have time to explain, but if we don’t leave now we may be stuck in the human world for a lot longer than originally planned.”  
Amity knew her sister wouldn’t exaggerate something as serious as this, but she really didn’t want to leave Luz again. She turned back toward the human girl who was lurking in the entryway, chewing her nails. She glanced back at her sister who was still fidgeting.   
“I’ll give you two a second.” She stepped away from the house, and Amity shut the door.  
As soon as she heard the click she spun to Luz.  
“Come with me, please.” Luz took a step back, her eyes widening, “Please Luz, I don’t want to leave you again.” I can’t live without you.  
“I don’t know…” Amity could tell she was struggling, her eyes were wide, and emotions kept flashing across her face too fast to determine them.  
Amity stepped forward and grabbed Luz’s hands.  
“I know it’s been a tough few years, but I also know that we can get better, together. I don’t know what this is, whatever we have, but I know that if you come with me we can explore it together.” Her voice was beginning to crack, “So please Luz, give us a chance?”  
Silence, the silence was horrible. It ripped into Amity’s mind and played with her emotions. Tears pricked in her eyes and she stopped breathing. Maybe that was too much, maybe she sounded desperate, she was desperate. She knew the amount of pressure she was putting on Luz, she knew it was a horrible thing to do, but she hadn’t had time to think, and in that moment the only thing she could feel was mind consuming fear.  
Luz looked up at Amity and gave her a weak smile.   
“I’ll get my stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! In two hours I'm going to be on a plane to Florida. I'll be spending the next week on a family vacation so consider this a mini hiatus.


	5. How to Say Goodbye

Four minutes later Luz found herself hugging her Mami goodbye, claiming that the band heard back from a very important client and she needed to get home immediately. Camilla, of course, was worried about the timing.  
“It’s so late miha, can’t you leave in the morning?”  
“I already bought a bus ticket.”  
“Alright then, stay safe and text me when you get there.”  
“Of course, te quiero Mami.” And then they were off, Amity offered to carry some of Luz’s stuff but she just shook her head. She didn’t want to be more of a burden than she already was. Sure, Amity had been the one to ask her to come back, but Luz had been hoping to do so anyway. She just hadn’t been sure if she was ready, she still didn’t know if she was, but there was no turning back now.   
They walked through the woods in almost silence, Emira was asking Luz what she had been up to, and Luz was answering as best she could. Amity had fallen behind, staying a few feet away from the other girls. Every now and then Luz would glance back at her, just to see that she was staring up at the trees mumbling something to herself.   
Luz had just gained enough courage to ask the witch if she was ok, when a shout from ahead drew her attention away.  
“Luz!” Willow who for some reason was crouched by the stairs of the old shed waved enthusiastically. She looked under the stairs again, before jumping up and running to her old friend. Luz set her stuff down and held her arms open for Willow to barrel into. She embraced the witch, who was laughing quietly. They pulled apart and Luz couldn’t help but grin at WIllow’s ear-to-ear smile.  
“Oh my gosh! Your hair is so long.” Luz tugged on a strand of her hair and chuckled.  
“So is yours.” Indeed Willow's dark hair was long enough that she had pulled into a high ponytail, that Luz had to admit looked amazing on the witch.  
“I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you before we left, what are you doing here anyway?”   
“I’m going back to the Isles.” Willow raised her eyebrows.  
“Really?” Luz nodded.  
“That’s amazing Luz, it’ll be great having you back!” Luz noticed Amity had walked up to the shed and was looking under the stairs. Willow, following Luz’s gaze let out a sigh.  
“Fiona is being stubborn, we woke her from a nap and now she won’t come out.”  
“Fiona?” Luz asked, Amity was now reaching under the stairs and was saying something in a low voice.  
“Amity’s palisman, she’s the cutest thing.”   
Earning a palisman was a big step in any witches life, Luz knew that Amity deserved it more than anything.   
Amity had finally managed to coax Fiona out from under the stairs. She was gorgeous, a small lean cat, made of ebony wood. She jumped onto Amity’s shoulder and rubbed against the witches cheek.  
Willow and Luz made their way toward the shed, the human noticed Emira standing off to the side with Edric, she gave the latter a small wave, which he returned.   
“What’s so important we have to go back right now?” Amity asked, stroking Fiona.  
“I’m not entirely sure, we just received a message from Eda, she said it was urgent.”  
The three girls stewed in silence, but Luz kept getting distracted by Amity’s palisman who she could have sworn was staring at her. Indeed that cat was gazing wisely at the human, a scarily intelligent look in her eye. She then leaped from Amity’s shoulder onto Luz’s head.  
Luz and Amity stared at each other, while Willow chuckled lightly.  
Luz reached up hesitantly and gave the feline a pet, in response the cat purred loudly and slinked down to Luz’s shoulder, she wrapped herself around the girl's neck, and seemed to fall asleep.   
“It usually takes awhile for her to warm up to people.” Amity said warmly. Luz felt honored, she continued to stroke the cat lovingly, whispering to it quietly.  
Emira and Edric approached the small group, Luz immediately noticed Emira’s shaking hands. She seemed to be taking this a lot harder than everyone else.   
Amity also noticed.  
“Emira, what’s wrong?” The older witch opened her mouth and then closed it again, looking helplessly to Edric.  
“In Eda’s message she said that Emperor Belos had gotten a hold of some high tier members of the resistance. That’s why we need to hurry because he has sent guards to the Owl House.”   
“Viney.” Amity gasped, and Edric nodded solemnly.   
Luz was beyond confused, she understood most of the words Edric was saying, but together they didn’t make much sense. She vaguely remembered Viney, they had only interacted during Luz’s first year in the Isles, after that they only exchanged nods in the hallway and occasionally swapped friendly conversations during classes. Other than that they weren't very close.  
Amity seemed to note the human's confusion and pulled her aside to explain.  
“There are only three people outside of the four of us,” she gestured to the group, “that are part of the resistance and know about the location of the Owl House. Augustus, Lilith and Viney. After you left, The Emperor began to increase his attacks on the house, so a few of the stronger witches of the resistance, including myself used magic to move the house and cast a cloaking spell.  
“Viney and Emira are… close, if you catch my drift, and if Emperor Belos can find the Owl House that means one of those three were captured and likely tortured for information.”  
As Amity continued to explain, Luz felt her heart sink into her stomach. Things must have gotten really bad back home. And she hadn’t even been there to help her friends. The human glanced over at Emira who was still shaking, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.  
Luz understood her distress, if it was Amity who was potentially in danger she didn't think she would be able to function. Even the thought of Amity in the hands of someone as evil as The Emperor stirred a dark feeling in Luz’s gut, and she suddenly felt nauseous.  
Instinctually Luz grabbed Amity’s hand holding it tight, desperate for the comforting contact. Amity squeezed the humans hand back, running a finger along her knuckles. Luz instantly felt better, she shot the witch a grateful glance, and Amity smiled back but didn’t let go of Luz’s hand.   
Edric cleared his throat loudly, and both girls looked over at him blushing, Luz was worried that Amity would push her away, but she didn’t.  
“If you two are done goggling at each other,” Amity huffed at him, “the portal is opening.”  
They looked over at the shed and Luz was hit with so many emotions she couldn’t identify them individually, but together they were a mass of chaotic excitement. The doorway was faintly glowing as the portal between worlds began to open.   
“Are you ready?” Amity asked.  
“Not really.” Luz could feel Amity’s panicked stare, so the human turned to her friend.  
“But I want to do this.” The girls grinned at each other.   
Luz picked up her stuff, and strapped her guitar across her back.  
Amity held out her free hand and a staff shot out from under the stairs of the shed and into her hand. She set it right side up on the ground and Fiona removed herself glumly from Luz’s neck and perched lightly on the staff.   
Emira had already rushed through the doorway, and Edric followed after her quickly, calling her name before disappearing. Willow nodded at Luz and Amity before following the twins.   
Luz gave herself a moment to breathe. She glanced back at the woods behind them. Toward her mother and her old life. The life that she hated, the life that was hard and dark and miserable. She was happy to leave it behind. She didn’t like thinking about it, but her life here was horrible, and the places here were full of horrible memories. Luz lightly brushed a hand behind her ear, and swore she could feel the mark inked there.  
“Let’s go.”   
She and Amity stepped up the stairs, and still holding hands, stepped through the portal.

It took a lot of effort to keep hold of Luz’s hand during the transition between worlds. Amity did her best and in the end they both stumbled into the living room of the Owl House, still connected. However the connection was immediately cut-off when a blur of brown fur collided into Luz.  
The human rocked back, reflexively grabbing hold of the object, (which turned out to be King).   
“Hi buddy.” Luz whispered when she too realised who was in her arms. She held King close, both of them had tears running down their faces.   
“I didn’t miss you at all.” King sniffled loudly burying himself further into Luz’s hug, Amity couldn’t help but be jealous of the little demon. Luz laughed quietly and held him closer. King squirmed away from her grip and crawled up to her shoulder, where he sat, a claw protectively gripping a clump of Luz’s hair.  
There was a thump from the stairs, followed by a string of curses. Then Eda appeared on the landing holding a large black bag. The bag was large enough that she couldn’t see where she was going, and she didn’t see Luz.  
Luz gasped and took a step forward, her eyes pinned on the struggling witch.   
Eda made her way carefully down the steps, the entire group seemed to hold their breath. King jumped down from Luz’s shoulder and squirmed his way onto the couch. They all knew Luz’s absence had affected the older witch the most. Eda had been alone for most of her life, then Luz had stumbled carelessly into her life. They shared a very powerful mother daughter dynamic. In fact Eda had been very parental to the Blights after they had befriended Luz. She had gone to school with Amity’s parents and knew how terrible they were. If Amity was being honest Eda was the most parental figure in her life.  
The older witch had finally made it to the bottom of the stairs. She dropped the bag with a hmph, the contents rattling. She looked up at the group and began to speak but immediately stopped her eyes landing on Luz.   
“Oh my stars…” She murmured, bringing a shaking hand to her heart.   
“Hi Eda.” Luz smiled shyly. Eda stepped forward and a huge smile broke across her face, Amity hadn’t seen her smile like that for six years. The older witch opened her arms wide, as tears began to roll down her face. In a few steps Luz was in her mentor's arms. Luz was shaking and Eda was rubbing the humans back.  
Amity turned to the rest of the group and gestured that they should give the two of them space. The four witches filed out of the main room and ended up standing outside the front door of the Owl House.  
By some kind of miracle, Hooty was sleeping. Edric was still trying to comfort Emira who had pulled out her scroll and was texting someone (likely Viney). She sent the text and waited about three seconds before tapping her scroll again and then bringing it to her ear. They all waited in silence, watching Emira as she bit her nails.  
After a while her face fell, and more tears dripped down her face.  
“Viney, it’s Emira. Please, please let me know as soon as you get this. Please be ok. Please call me back,” she hesitated before adding, “I love you.” She pulled the scroll from her ear and hung up.  
She stared at the dark screen, she honestly looked devastated.  
“Has anyone gotten a hold of Gus or Lillith?” Amity asked, trying to draw her sisters attention elsewhere, also she really did want to know.  
She and Gus were pretty close, but Willow was closer to him. And Lillith… Amity hadn’t spoken to Lillith for years. Her old mentor had betrayed her in all ways possible, even if Eda and Luz had forgiven her Amity would never forget the moment when she found out Luz had almost died by Lilliths hand. It had been a moment of rage and tears.  
“I texted Gus as soon as I could,” Willow stated, “he’s fine, he’s home.”  
No one said anything about Lillith, meaning no one had heard from her.   
“When I get to work tomorrow I’ll find out what happened, if it wasn’t my off day I would have already heard from the Emperor.” Indeed Emperor Belos told Amity everything, her parents had been ridiculously loyal to him, and he truly believed that Amity had followed in their footsteps. He relied heavily on her, which was a huge mistake on his part. She relayed everything he told her directly to the resistance, and despite several of his “secret” plans being foiled, he was still none the wiser. Amity had convinced him that the group of rebels must have had an extremely powerful seer on their side.  
Amity’s offer did seem to reassure Emira a bit, she nodded at her sister and wrung her hands.  
Amity set her staff down and tapped the end lightly, the stick buzzed with energy before flying off into the woods.  
Willow gave her a quizzical look and Amity shrugged. She felt much safer with Fiona at home, should any of the guards go looking for her. If they found the staff at her place without the witch, they would assume she had merely gone shopping, or something like that. Not doing something that involved magic.  
She felt slightly exposed without her staff, but she knew it was for the best.  
The door to the Owl House swung open and Eda called them all inside.

They were all in the living room, Luz had unconsciously floated over to Amity when she had come back inside. She felt safer with the witch. Amity had sat on the couch and Luz had perched on the arm of the sofa. Eda was breaking down their plan.  
“If the guards are on the way here, none of you can stay. As far as the Emperor’s Coven is concerned, you are all loyal to them. And Luz… I don’t know if I can explain you. You’ll split up, Emira and Edric, you can head back to your place. Willow you should go with Amity to her house. Luz you go with them too.” Luz nodded, she was actually kinda excited to get to spend more time with Amity.  
“The Emperor must have had wards set up around the Isles that detected the opening of the portal.” Eda added.  
“If he’s following mandate, he’ll initiate an Isles wide lockdown in half an hour. No one will be allowed to leave the building they are in, until everyone is accounted for.” Amity volunteered the information up without hesitation, she did seem to know a lot about the Emperor’s plans.  
Eda nodded, “I’ve packed up some of my most important things for you to take. Under no circumstances can the Emperor get his hands on this.” She gestured to the bag she had carried down the stairs before.  
“Wait, what about you?” Luz asked.  
“Amity has done so much to keep my cover, but I’m afraid that one can only ‘coincidentally’ escape capture so many times before people start to get suspicious.” Eda smiled warily.   
“No, Eda you can’t!” Luz protested, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to persuade her mentor. Eda was just as stubborn as the human.  
“I’m sorry kiddo, but my time has come.”  
“Eda, please.” It was Amity’s turn to beg, Luz turned to look at the witch, surprised to see her crying.   
“I have to, you guys take care of each other, ok?” Amity swallowed, a defeated look in her eyes, and nodded stiffly. But Luz wasn’t about to give up so easily.  
“No, I just got you back! I can’t lose you again!” There were tears streaming down her face.  
Eda only hugged the human tightly.   
She then stepped away from Luz and held out a hand, Owlbert slammed into her palm.  
Eda looked down at her staff longingly, and stroked the owls head. She then offered the staff to Luz. The human could only stare in shock. If Eda was giving her palisman to Luz, then she really didn’t think she could get out of this. Luz took the staff and stared at Eda for a few more seconds. She then rushed into another hug, gripping her mentor tightly.  
“Te extrañaré,” Luz paused, “mi madre.” She knew that Eda didn’t know Spanish but the words didn’t feel right in English. She hoped that the emotion in her tone was reassurance enough.  
Eda squeezed Luz tightly then stepped away, she raised a hand and brushed away the humans tears, her smile was tired.  
“I love you kiddo, don’t you ever forget that.”   
And then that was it.  
The rest of the group gave Eda hugs goodbye, and Amity lingered the longest, whispering to Eda quietly, the older witch then tucked something into Amity’s hand. The young witch nodded back at her.  
King had tucked himself into Emira’s arms, the twins would be taking care of him from now on. Luz didn’t think the small demon was entirely aware of the gravity of the situation, and none of them wanted to hurt him more than necessary.   
A few minutes later Amity and Luz stood outside the Owl House alone. The twins had already left and taken Eda’s bag of things. And Willow had gone ahead, telling them she had to stop at her place to grab a few things before heading to Amity’s.   
Luz had finally stopped crying, but in place of her sadness was an emptiness that terrified her. She had had a horrible period of depression her first few years back in the human world. A time she never wanted to revisit. But she was too tired to fight the feeling, she was nearly too tired to stand upright.  
Amity kept giving her concerned glances, and Luz was thankful for the witch.   
“Are you going to be ok?” Amity asked cautiously, Luz just shrugged, even that action took so much energy.  
“You should probably fly us, I don’t know where I’m going.” And I’m too exhausted. Luz offered Owlbert to Amity, noticing that the witch didn’t have her own staff.  
Amity took the staff and tapped the back end, causing it to hover over the ground. She sat at the front and patted the spot behind her for Luz to sit. The human moved almost robotically mounting the staff with as little effort as possible. Once she was safely seated she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Amity instinctively. She buried her face in the back of the witches neck, desperate for warmth. Amity placed one hand on top of Luz’s hands on her stomach and whispered to the human.  
“I can’t tell you that it’s going to get better, or that the pain will go away. But I can promise it becomes more bearable. I can’t offer much, but I can guarantee that I will always be here for you, as long as you need me.” Luz felt the words warm her core, and she was truly grateful to the witch.  
“Thank you Amity.”  
“Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yay you made it this far! I'm hoping to post every other day to start with, but once I get farther into the work and the chapters start getting longer that might change. Have a lovely rest of your life and I hope you come back for Chapter 2.


End file.
